China Charity & Anfields opinion

[porshiepoo]

Righto, I'm starting this thread just to clear up a few issues with my current fundraising attempt and the charity event I'm taking part in in China 2011.

Anfield has taken it upon his/herself to make rather derogatory comments on this fundraising a few times in Org threads and I feel I should help him/her along with the thread they state they wish to start with regards to it.
I can only assume from his/her derogatory comments that he/she believes this to be some kind of attempt by myself to get a free holiday (paid for by those who sponsor me).
So I'm going to let everyone know the details that have been bothering Anfield for some time just to help him/her along with their childishness.

Approx 3/4 of all sponsorship I raise goes to the Charity women for women. Approx 1/4 of it is then used by the organisers to pay for air fare and boarding. (I have to raise a minimum of £3330.00.)
However, many of us have agreed that if we raise the full amount of sponsorship then we will pay the airfare and boarding costs ourselves so that 100% goes to charity. If we don't raise the full amount we each need then we'll either be able to offer everyone their money back or we will put in the difference ourselves.

To make one thing clear this is NOT a holiday. I have paid a substantial non refundable registration fee, I am paying my own insurances, Visa costs, Airport taxes and will be buying all my own necessary equipment.

Anfield has referred to this charity event as a "jaunt" and a "holiday" so I would just like to let you know what this "Jaunt/Holiday" entails:
I will be cycling 450km in 5 days in Beijing, average daily kms range from 40 to over 100.
Although the dates mean I'm away for 8 days, 2 of these days will be travelling and I can guarantee that the day after the finish I will be so knackered that I won't care about sightseeing.
Yes, I may get to see some spectacular sights along the way but when you're covering up to 100k in a day, no doubt covered in sweat and feeling knackered I don't presume to think I'm going to take much of those sights in.
Unfortunately Anfield, yes I will get to eat (hopefully 3 times a day) and maybe this classes as jauntiness in your book but hey, ho a girls gotta eat.

My training up to this "jaunt/holiday" has so far been knackering. I started out completely un fit but have been running since January to aid my fitness and am taking part in the Mey10k, Brora 10k and am deciding between the ness 10k or Aviemore half marathon.
Believe me I am not doing this for any other reason than I take training for China very seriously.
Needless to say I am also cycling and have finally joined fat club to lose those pounds.

Incidentally Women for Women is a charity that helps women scientists specialise in research affecting women and their babies such as miscarriage, cancer, genetic diseases etc.

I apologise that this is long winded but I do feel the need to put the record straight as Anfield appears to be on a path of his/her own and appears to want everyone to believe that it cannot be anything other than a free holiday for myself.
I do understand that there may be some people who are skeptical of these charity events when there is an amount taken from sponsorship to fund the fares and boarding and that is why many of us pledge to pay ourselves under certain conditions mentioned above.
The way I see it is that any kind of sponsorship raised is a good thing and publicity for these events is also a good thing (Cycle China was first made known by Fern Britton who has attended a few of them).

So just to finish up.
1) This is NOT a holiday.
2) This is not a scam or rip off.
3) I'm not doing it because I may get to see a public hanging in China :roll: (apparantly Anfield feels that this may be one of my motives)

[Scout]

I wish you all the best. I hope someone is covering photos of you out there be nice to see them I am sure People in Caithness would as well.

[Gronnuck]

Good on yer porshiepoo - you go girl! :Razz :Razz :Razz

[The Drunken Duck]

Best wishes for your exploits Porshiepoo.

People who get off their backsides and actually do something about the issues they feel strongly about are to be applauded. I don't know where Anfield is getting his assumptions from and don't really care for them. Well played on fronting up and putting any insinuations to rest.

[Blarney]

It's a sad state of affairs when someone who is prepared to give up their time to do something of this magnitude for the benefit of others has to justify their actions to cynical onlookers.
Good luck to you!

[Thumper]

Everytime somebody tries to do good for a charity there is always somebody who wil down it/accuse people of a scam/accuse them of doing it for a cheap holiday etc,but I never se any of them posting anything about doing something for charity! EVEN if part of it is paid for by the charity,if porshie didnt do the trek AND raise the funds then they wouldnt get the in excess of three grand that they are going to get....so whats the problem??????x

[John Little]

I am not fond of online donating - is there an address I can send to?

[Commore]

It's a sad state of affairs when someone who is prepared to give up their time to do something of this magnitude for the benefit of others has to justify their actions to cynical onlookers.
Good luck to you!

It is a sad state of affairs when someone, anyone, feels obligated to explain their motive/s to another.
I think this post is overly opinionated, overly explained and provoking in a very negative sense, it begs an argument and in my humble opinion should not really be allowed on a forum such as this.

If this "Porchiepoo" wishes to do something for charity, that is entirely her/his business, it has little or nothing to do with anyone else,
unless of course, Porchiepoo seeks public admiration for her / his actions in this regard, ??
I would in my own opinion just point out that hundreds / millions of people in Scotland / Britain give to charities every day of their lives and not all of them are recognised, let alone have the publicity afforded by such forums as this one.
Short of reporting this particular post as of being rather unwarranted and abusive,
I would say to "Porchiepoo" go forth ..do your stuff... and leave others to positive posting rather than deliberatly creating negativity among others..........:)

[Bazeye]

Well, Anfield.....

[adi1]

Well done for doing something positive.
Conmore get a grip she was goaded into that response by Anfield.
There is one thing I've missed and that is why is this event taking place in China?

[porshiepoo]

Thank you for all your support. It's most appreciated. :)



It is a sad state of affairs when someone, anyone, feels obligated to explain their motive/s to another.
I think this post is overly opinionated, overly explained and provoking in a very negative sense, it begs an argument and in my humble opinion should not really be allowed on a forum such as this.

If this "Porchiepoo" wishes to do something for charity, that is entirely her/his business, it has little or nothing to do with anyone else,
unless of course, Porchiepoo seeks public admiration for her / his actions in this regard, ??
I would in my own opinion just point out that hundreds / millions of people in Scotland / Britain give to charities every day of their lives and not all of them are recognised, let alone have the publicity afforded by such forums as this one.
Short of reporting this particular post as of being rather unwarranted and abusive,
I would say to "Porchiepoo" go forth ..do your stuff... and leave others to positive posting rather than deliberatly creating negativity among others..........:)

I too wish that I hadn't had to post this.
I've been happily getting on with whatever I need to get ready for this event.
I dealt with Anfields first load of derogatory drivel differently and I did my best to answer his questions and after thinking on it he decided not to sponsor me. That's cool, I had no problem there. I thought that was the end of it.
But now he's making accusations again that could lead to a negative effect on my fund raising in the local community. As much as I'd love to just "go forth and do my stuff" Anfield has decided to make accusations and comments that are actually hampering that.
There was no intention to turn this post into a slanging match of any kind I'm simply defending myself against the comments of a very negative person.

If you feel the need to report this thread as unwarranted then please do so, that is your choice.
If you feel the need to report this thread as abusive, again please do so. The mods will cut it short if it is indeed abusive. However, compared to the drivel and nastiness that has eminated from Anfields court this is nothing and it is that same drivel and nastiness that has bought on the necessity of this thread.

[porshiepoo]

Well done for doing something positive.
Conmore get a grip she was goaded into that response by Anfield.
There is one thing I've missed and that is why is this event taking place in China?


We simply chose to enter the China event. There are similar events all over the world and I guess they help raise a huge amount of sponsorship and awareness.
I'm not too sure why my friend and I chose this particular event. We wanted to do something for the Women for Women charity as cancer and babies are close to my heart and we were drawn to it being a womens only event - girl power and all that. lol.

There are many events in the UK though that are just as worthwhile and would perhaps mean less sponsorship would need to be raised.

[Commore]

Thank you for all your support. It's most appreciated. :)




I too wish that I hadn't had to post this.
I've been happily getting on with whatever I need to get ready for this event.
I dealt with Anfields first load of derogatory drivel differently and I did my best to answer his questions and after thinking on it he decided not to sponsor me. That's cool, I had no problem there. I thought that was the end of it.
But now he's making accusations again that could lead to a negative effect on my fund raising in the local community. As much as I'd love to just "go forth and do my stuff" Anfield has decided to make accusations and comments that are actually hampering that.
There was no intention to turn this post into a slanging match of any kind I'm simply defending myself against the comments of a very negative person.

If you feel the need to report this thread as unwarranted then please do so, that is your choice.
If you feel the need to report this thread as abusive, again please do so. The mods will cut it short if it is indeed abusive. However, compared to the drivel and nastiness that has eminated from Anfields court this is nothing and it is that same drivel and nastiness that has bought on the necessity of this thread.

Well, I was you, I would not enter into any such dialogue with anyone, whereby, I would feel "the need to explain" my motives to anyone,
way..to go girl..................!!!

[peter macdonald]

Best of luck with your efforts PP
PM

[3of8]

So after reading Porshiepoo's attack on Anfield's opinion of her charity attempt I thought I'd look up online what exactly is involved with this cycle ride. I decided that even though Anfield may have been crass in his insinuations throughout his posts I would have to stand up in his defence because of what I found.

I Googled it and there it was. Women for Women Cycle China, on the Actionforcharity.co.uk web page. So far, so good. So it explains roughly what is going to happen and who will be there (Fern Britton & Prof. Robert Winston). Also in the search results was the Women for Women website. I looked at it and followed the link to the Cycle China event next year. Very inspirational reading that has one wanting to do something like this oneself, especially after reading copy such as:
"If you have ever wanted to visit China and experience its incredible mix of culture, people and history at close quarters then this is an opportunity of a lifetime. Cycle china is a five-day450kms ride through the beautiful countryside of the Beijing region, alongside rivers and through steep gorges, past tiny villages, ancient tombs and historical landmarks. You will experience a China few westerners get to sample and have the opportunity to visit and cycle alonhside the Great Wall - a huge symbol of China's ancient greatness.

The 10th Women for Women ride will be challenging and will earn every penny of the sponsorship raised. It is guaranteed to be full of fun and friendship."

Hang on a sec! Where in Porshiepoo's post does it mention fun? In fact, reading the post a couple of times, it seems like poor Porshie is doing this not for fun but because some female instinct tells her she's gotta do what she's gotta do.

Porshie suggests it's not a holiday. I dare to suggest that it IS a holiday with fund raising thrown in. Especially when the holiday lasts 10 days, not the 8 she stated. (Unless, of course, she is coming back 2 days earlier under her own steam and not part of a package, and what would be the point of that?) Yes, she is cycling for 5 consecutive days and travelling for 2 days, but that still leaves 3 days of no cycling and definitely for sight-seeing! It says so in the brochure here: http://www.women-for-women.org/uploads/PDF/China5%20flyer2.pdf Discover Beijing, visit the Forbidden City, enjoy a celebratory meal in the evening. Not so traumatic that really is it? Neither are the lunch stops each day which include a short sight-seeing to a big Buddha one day, the Great Wall on another day, tourist villages on the other days. I was feeling sorry for her until I read the brochure.

The substantial non-refundable deposit? Only £250. Same as any holiday company would demand really. I had to cancel a P&O cruise a couple of years ago and lost a £700 deposit. Nearly 3 times the cost of her deposit.

Anfield decided to withdraw his offer of sponsorship? Well, maybe that's because he looked at the small print involved in this charity cycle ride here: http://www.women-for-women.org/uploads/PDF/BookingConditionsClassicTours.doc from the Classic Tours company. Specifically this -
1. The price of your Tour
(i) The cost of your participation in the fundraising event forms a part of the overall value of the sponsorship raised by you and received by the charity. From those sums received by the charity, the charity will pay to us the cost of your travel arrangements that we are agreeing to provide. (Underlining and bold emphasis by me)
All of a sudden, I don't want to contribute either.

I'm not knocking Porshiepoo's efforts. Far be it for me to do so. But she has come across in the original thread as an offended and outraged individual who is rallying support from the troops and definitely looking for sympathy. She won't get it from me cos she don't need to do this. She's doing a 100km bike ride a day? That's the equivalent of cycling from Lybster to John O'Groats and back. 100km is the equivalent of 60 miles. Assuming that there's mixed level and hilly riding, I would imagine the average speed would be about 14-15 mph. Even 10mph (or 16kph) still means that 6 to 7 hours of riding, with a lunch stop thrown in, should easily cover the distance. You know, put that way, simplyfying it, it doesn't seem such as slog after all!

So essentially she is raising money for a charity to be able to pay for this holiday/jaunt. Contributing the full monies sponsored as suggested and paying the balance for the flights, food, hotels etc is all well and good, but if there was no holiday and sightseeing to China involved what would be the point?



I too wish that I hadn't had to post this.
I've been happily getting on with whatever I need to get ready for this event.
I dealt with Anfields first load of derogatory drivel differently and I did my best to answer his questions and after thinking on it he decided not to sponsor me. That's cool, I had no problem there. I thought that was the end of it.
But now he's making accusations again that could lead to a negative effect on my fund raising in the local community. As much as I'd love to just "go forth and do my stuff" Anfield has decided to make accusations and comments that are actually hampering that.
There was no intention to turn this post into a slanging match of any kind I'm simply defending myself against the comments of a very negative person.

Alas, she has been very negative herself.


It is a sad state of affairs when someone, anyone, feels obligated to explain their motive/s to another.
I think this post is overly opinionated, overly explained and provoking in a very negative sense, it begs an argument and in my humble opinion should not really be allowed on a forum such as this.

If this "Porchiepoo" wishes to do something for charity, that is entirely her/his business, it has little or nothing to do with anyone else,
unless of course, Porchiepoo seeks public admiration for her / his actions in this regard, ??
I would in my own opinion just point out that hundreds / millions of people in Scotland / Britain give to charities every day of their lives and not all of them are recognised, let alone have the publicity afforded by such forums as this one.
Short of reporting this particular post as of being rather unwarranted and abusive,
I would say to "Porchiepoo" go forth ..do your stuff... and leave others to positive posting rather than deliberatly creating negativity among others..........:)

I think Commore is right. The thing is, coming on and moaning the way she has can lose her support. And serve her right if it does. She's tried to make out that she is doing something noble for a noble cause at great personal cost. I may not be the sharpest tool in the box, but far from trying to shame Anfield, in my eyes she's made a fool of herself and those who have already agreed to sponsor her.

Can Porshie not do an end-to-end ender? Or is riding 1400km in a couple of weeks just too much and too far? The money she raises, even if it's £330, not £3300, could be donated to the chosen charity anyway. And this country is just as beautiful as China. :confused

[sandyr1]

Have been reading all about this and would like to thank 3of8 for the excellent clarification.
It surely gives one food for thought, and a different perspective!

[John Little]

"I'm not knocking Porshiepoo's efforts. Far be it for me to do so"

No?

That's not how it reads from here.


Porshiepoo- It seems eminently sensible that your fundraising efforts pay your costs as well, for if you paid them you would, in effect, be making a very large donation to charity as well as doing the extra fund raising. That would put an awful lot of sponsors off doing fund raising altogether - especially those on low incomes.

You foster links with China, do good for women, promote international goodwill and understanding amongst those you meet and try to make a difference


My cheque is in the post Porshiepoo. I hope you get more. I hope it's fun for you.

[porshiepoo]

"If you have ever wanted to visit China and experience its incredible mix of culture, people and history at close quarters then this is an opportunity of a lifetime. Cycle china is a five-day450kms ride through the beautiful countryside of the Beijing region, alongside rivers and through steep gorges, past tiny villages, ancient tombs and historical landmarks. You will experience a China few westerners get to sample and have the opportunity to visit and cycle alonhside the Great Wall - a huge symbol of China's ancient greatness.

The 10th Women for Women ride will be challenging and will earn every penny of the sponsorship raised. It is guaranteed to be full of fun and friendship."

Hang on a sec! Where in Porshiepoo's post does it mention fun? In fact, reading the post a couple of times, it seems like poor Porshie is doing this not for fun but because some female instinct tells her she's gotta do what she's gotta do. I apologise if the thought of "fun" or "friendship" has offended anyone, obviously we shouldn't be expecting any kind of frivolity of any kind after just 15 months of hard, hard training.


Porshie suggests it's not a holiday. I dare to suggest that it IS a holiday with fund raising thrown in. Especially when the holiday lasts 10 days, not the 8 she stated.Actually the return flights have been changed from what you see online and we come home a day earlier.
But just to clarify, itinerary below:
Day 1: overnight flight to Beijing.
Day 2:Arrive afternoon and spend the evening bike fitting and getting clued up.
Day 3: 93kms
Day4:101kms
Day5:106kms
Day 6: 103kms
Day7 : 46kms
Day8: Recovery day before night flight home.
Day 9: Arrive in UK

Wow, if that can be classed as a "holiday" then I have to rethink my family ones in the future. I always thought a holiday was supposed to be relaxing.
I can try not to take in too much scenery if that is what is expected :roll:


Discover Beijing, visit the Forbidden City, enjoy a celebratory meal in the evening. Not so traumatic that really is it?Jesus, is a celebratory meal really an issue? We will be eating throughout the cycle event, no doubt we'll be eating local food which could well mean we spend the event trying to combat a dicky tummy while cycling.
And yes, maybe we will be able to chat about what we've achieved but I make no apologies for that. We are all working extremely hard to get ourselves fit enough for this event.


Neither are the lunch stops each day which include a short sight-seeing to a big Buddha one day, the Great Wall on another day, tourist villages on the other days. I was feeling sorry for her until I read the brochure. The sight seeing of the wall can hardly be helped can it! It's just there.
Plus you have to remember that we're doing some long distances on these days, sightseeing is not going to be high on our list of priorities when we're all sweaty and knackered.


The substantial non-refundable deposit? Only £250. Same as any holiday company would demand really. I had to cancel a P&O cruise a couple of years ago and lost a £700 deposit. Nearly 3 times the cost of her deposit.£250 may not be much to you but it's a hell of a lot to me.


Anfield decided to withdraw his offer of sponsorship? Anfield never offered sponsorship. I simply answered his question as best I could about the event.



1. The price of your Tour
(i) The cost of your participation in the fundraising event forms a part of the overall value of the sponsorship raised by you and received by the charity. From those sums received by the charity, the charity will pay to us the cost of your travel arrangements that we are agreeing to provide. (Underlining and bold emphasis by me)

I've already explained that many of us have agreed to cover those costs ourselves if we manage to raise the full amount of sponsorship.


I'm not knocking Porshiepoo's efforts. Far be it for me to do so. But she has come across in the original thread as an offended and outraged individual who is rallying support from the troops and definitely looking for sympathy.No, the original thread was started to clarify some points about the event that I felt I should make clear because Anfield was threatening to start his own thread which was guaranteed to be derogatory and negative.




So essentially she is raising money for a charity to be able to pay for this holiday/jaunt. Contributing the full monies sponsored as suggested and paying the balance for the flights, food, hotels etc is all well and good, but if there was no holiday and sightseeing to China involved what would be the point?Erm charity! :eek:



Can Porshie not do an end-to-end ender? Of course she can. However she chose to do this event. I'm not asking for sympathy as you suggest, nor am I trying to garner more sponsorship through sympathy.
I don't need to defend myself on why I chose to do China instead of a UK event, however maybe in the future I will consider a UK event but certainly not because some negative person believes that it's more worthwhile that what I'm already doing.
I appreciate your opinions on this event are just that, your opinions. Thankfully they are not held by the majority of people or else these charities would be in dire straits by now.

Or is riding 1400km in a couple of weeks just too much and too far? The money she raises, even if it's £330, not £3300, could be donated to the chosen charity anyway. And this country is just as beautiful as China. :confused

[Andfield]

Why porshie would need to start a thread to defend herself from my Scouse m8 is beyond me :).
I may be wrong but this particular Scouser seems to keep most of his abuse for female members of this forum - I have the feeling that in reality he is a little insignificant fellow who gets his kicks from playing the hard man hidden behind a keyboard.[disgust]

[Commore]

So after reading Porshiepoo's attack on Anfield's opinion of her charity attempt I thought I'd look up online what exactly is involved with this cycle ride. I decided that even though Anfield may have been crass in his insinuations throughout his posts I would have to stand up in his defence because of what I found.

I Googled it and there it was. Women for Women Cycle China, on the Actionforcharity.co.uk web page. So far, so good. So it explains roughly what is going to happen and who will be there (Fern Britton & Prof. Robert Winston). Also in the search results was the Women for Women website. I looked at it and followed the link to the Cycle China event next year. Very inspirational reading that has one wanting to do something like this oneself, especially after reading copy such as:
"If you have ever wanted to visit China and experience its incredible mix of culture, people and history at close quarters then this is an opportunity of a lifetime. Cycle china is a five-day450kms ride through the beautiful countryside of the Beijing region, alongside rivers and through steep gorges, past tiny villages, ancient tombs and historical landmarks. You will experience a China few westerners get to sample and have the opportunity to visit and cycle alonhside the Great Wall - a huge symbol of China's ancient greatness.

The 10th Women for Women ride will be challenging and will earn every penny of the sponsorship raised. It is guaranteed to be full of fun and friendship."

Hang on a sec! Where in Porshiepoo's post does it mention fun? In fact, reading the post a couple of times, it seems like poor Porshie is doing this not for fun but because some female instinct tells her she's gotta do what she's gotta do.

Porshie suggests it's not a holiday. I dare to suggest that it IS a holiday with fund raising thrown in. Especially when the holiday lasts 10 days, not the 8 she stated. (Unless, of course, she is coming back 2 days earlier under her own steam and not part of a package, and what would be the point of that?) Yes, she is cycling for 5 consecutive days and travelling for 2 days, but that still leaves 3 days of no cycling and definitely for sight-seeing! It says so in the brochure here: http://www.women-for-women.org/uploads/PDF/China5%20flyer2.pdf Discover Beijing, visit the Forbidden City, enjoy a celebratory meal in the evening. Not so traumatic that really is it? Neither are the lunch stops each day which include a short sight-seeing to a big Buddha one day, the Great Wall on another day, tourist villages on the other days. I was feeling sorry for her until I read the brochure.

The substantial non-refundable deposit? Only £250. Same as any holiday company would demand really. I had to cancel a P&O cruise a couple of years ago and lost a £700 deposit. Nearly 3 times the cost of her deposit.

Anfield decided to withdraw his offer of sponsorship? Well, maybe that's because he looked at the small print involved in this charity cycle ride here: http://www.women-for-women.org/uploads/PDF/BookingConditionsClassicTours.doc from the Classic Tours company. Specifically this -
1. The price of your Tour
(i) The cost of your participation in the fundraising event forms a part of the overall value of the sponsorship raised by you and received by the charity. From those sums received by the charity, the charity will pay to us the cost of your travel arrangements that we are agreeing to provide. (Underlining and bold emphasis by me)
All of a sudden, I don't want to contribute either.

I'm not knocking Porshiepoo's efforts. Far be it for me to do so. But she has come across in the original thread as an offended and outraged individual who is rallying support from the troops and definitely looking for sympathy. She won't get it from me cos she don't need to do this. She's doing a 100km bike ride a day? That's the equivalent of cycling from Lybster to John O'Groats and back. 100km is the equivalent of 60 miles. Assuming that there's mixed level and hilly riding, I would imagine the average speed would be about 14-15 mph. Even 10mph (or 16kph) still means that 6 to 7 hours of riding, with a lunch stop thrown in, should easily cover the distance. You know, put that way, simplyfying it, it doesn't seem such as slog after all!

So essentially she is raising money for a charity to be able to pay for this holiday/jaunt. Contributing the full monies sponsored as suggested and paying the balance for the flights, food, hotels etc is all well and good, but if there was no holiday and sightseeing to China involved what would be the point?


Alas, she has been very negative herself.



I think Commore is right. The thing is, coming on and moaning the way she has can lose her support. And serve her right if it does. She's tried to make out that she is doing something noble for a noble cause at great personal cost. I may not be the sharpest tool in the box, but far from trying to shame Anfield, in my eyes she's made a fool of herself and those who have already agreed to sponsor her.

Can Porshie not do an end-to-end ender? Or is riding 1400km in a couple of weeks just too much and too far? The money she raises, even if it's £330, not £3300, could be donated to the chosen charity anyway. And this country is just as beautiful as China. :confused

Could not have written it better myself. Well done for "saying something positive, which, by the way, needed saying".

[Commore]

Why porshie would need to start a thread to defend herself from my Scouse m8 is beyond me :).
I may be wrong but this particular Scouser seems to keep most of his abuse for female members of this forum - I have the feeling that in reality he is a little insignificant fellow who gets his kicks from playing the hard man hidden behind a keyboard.[disgust]

Nonsense! utter written tripe.

[northener]

Unfortunately, sometimes one has no option but to go 'public' with their defence. Been there myself, very recently.....

Anfield voiced an opinion.

Porshiepoo has posted up a response.

That's how it should work. If they don't agree, then so what?


Anfield obviously has a cynical view of these jaunts to furrin' places in the name of charity - and that is a viewpoint which I can certainly appreciate. Porshiepoo sees it as an opportunity to raise money for those in need, do summat different and see a bit of the world. And more power to her for doing it.

But I expect we will have one or two coming out to chuck in their own their own 'expert analysis' of who should be doing what. No doubt these people will be seasoned charity workers who speak from years of experience....:roll:

BTW, three weeks ago I had a few beers with some mates of mine who rode all the way from Calums' Road on Raasay to The Gambia on their motorbikes at the beginning of the year. They raised over £40k for the Kudang road project and the Gambia donkey and horse charity.

http://www.gambiahorseanddonkey.org.uk/Pages/calum.htm

And they dared to have a holiday combined with their 'little' jaunt:eek: Shocking.


If someone chooses to get off their arse, see summat of the world and raise some money for a cause - then fair play to them. I know there will always be outfits who soak up most of the money raised, but you can say that about the charity world in general. Doesn't mean the whole system is rotten, does it?

Maybe I should have lectured Johnny and the boys about how they shouldn't have taken time out to enjoy themselves......

[northener]

I'm not knocking Porshiepoo's efforts. Far be it for me to do so. But she has come across in the original thread as an offended and outraged individual who is rallying support from the troops and definitely looking for sympathy. She won't get it from me cos she don't need to do this. She's doing a 100km bike ride a day? That's the equivalent of cycling from Lybster to John O'Groats and back. 100km is the equivalent of 60 miles. Assuming that there's mixed level and hilly riding, I would imagine the average speed would be about 14-15 mph. Even 10mph (or 16kph) still means that 6 to 7 hours of riding, with a lunch stop thrown in, should easily cover the distance. You know, put that way, simplyfying it, it doesn't seem such as slog after all!


. :confused


You've raised some fair points there, but I'll take you to task on this bit.

The average End to Ender covers between 60-110 miles a day depending on itinery, level of fitness and competitiveness. I've transported shedloads of cyclists who have finished the End to End for charity and who have covered an average of not more than about 75 miles a day. The other side of the coin is that I've taken people who have dome it in 8 days or less...and that is bloody hard work. The ones who are doing 90-110 miles are nearly exclusively young, very fit and are the sort of people who relish a pretty tough physical challenge.

So 60 miles a day is still a challenge for the majority. And I'll lay my life savings on the bet that most of the people in Caithness would find a 60 mile cycle ride challenging.
Your computation makes the journey sound like a doddle. Not day in and day out it ain't.

You have to understand that these fundraising events are geared to those who wish to have a bit of a 'challenge', see something of the world and raise a bit of dosh. It certainly isn't aimed at the roughy, toughy end of the market. Charities are trying to tap into a huge potential market that will get people out and about, educate and raise money at the same time.

Tin-rattling doesn't work for many charities, because there's so much competition. I'll walk past most collectors, unless the charity is already known to me - they won't get a penny...and the charities know this, hence the 'diversification' by many into schemes such as this.

[3of8]

I apologise if the thought of "fun" or "friendship" has offended anyone, obviously we shouldn't be expecting any kind of frivolity of any kind after just 15 months of hard, hard training.
You see, this is what you didn't make clear in your original post. To read through it, you make out it's all slog, slog, slog and no respite. Personally, if I were doing this, it would be a holiday.


Actually the return flights have been changed from what you see online and we come home a day earlier.
But just to clarify, itinerary below:
Day 1: overnight flight to Beijing.
Day 2:Arrive afternoon and spend the evening bike fitting and getting clued up.
Day 3: 93kms
Day4:101kms
Day5:106kms
Day 6: 103kms
Day7 : 46kms
Day8: Recovery day before night flight home.
Day 9: Arrive in UK

Wow, if that can be classed as a "holiday" then I have to rethink my family ones in the future. I always thought a holiday was supposed to be relaxing.
I can try not to take in too much scenery if that is what is expected I stand corrected about the change in itinerary. Regards seeing the sights, you said: "no doubt covered in sweat and feeling knackered I don't presume to think I'm going to take much of those sights in." Make your mind up. Self-pitying.

Are you taking your family with you? Probably not. Your family holiday would probably be relaxed and effortless I'm sure. Besides, you've heard of working holidays? Thousands of people go on them every year, whether it be in this country for conservation issues or foreign countries for charity events or even picking grapes off French vines, the way it's been done for years. I know people who travel all around the world for their faith, preaching Christianity in places where it's not freely preached, yet they class it as a holiday!

Jesus, is a celebratory meal really an issue? We will be eating throughout the cycle event, no doubt we'll be eating local food which could well mean we spend the event trying to combat a dicky tummy while cycling. And yes, maybe we will be able to chat about what we've achieved but I make no apologies for that. We are all working extremely hard to get ourselves fit enough for this event. I refer you to the above statement - you make out it's all slog, slog, slog and no respite.


The sight seeing of the wall can hardly be helped can it! It's just there.
Plus you have to remember that we're doing some long distances on these days, sightseeing is not going to be high on our list of priorities when we're all sweaty and knackered.Supposedly, astronauts can see the Wall. It's just there. But they don't actually take a lunch break and have a short tour of the thing, do they? You make out it's all slog, slog, slog and no respite.


£250 may not be much to you but it's a hell of a lot to me.
Anfield never offered sponsorship. I simply answered his question as best I could about the event.
I've already explained that many of us have agreed to cover those costs ourselves if we manage to raise the full amount of sponsorship.Very laudable too, paying your own way. IF you manage to raise full sponsorship. The point is, no-one has to pay their own way. It comes out of the £3300 minimum you have to raise.


No, the original thread was started to clarify some points about the event that I felt I should make clear because Anfield was threatening to start his own thread which was guaranteed to be derogatory and negative.Unfortunately, you started your own thread by being derogatory to Anfield and negative about what you doing. You make out it's all slog, slog, slog and no respite.





So essentially she is raising money for a charity to be able to pay for this holiday/jaunt. Contributing the full monies sponsored as suggested and paying the balance for the flights, food, hotels etc is all well and good, but if there was no holiday and sightseeing to China involved what would be the point? Erm charity! Which begins at home. :roll:



Of course she can. However she chose to do this event. I'm not asking for sympathy as you suggest, nor am I trying to garner more sponsorship through sympathy.So are you going to return John Little's cheque when you get it? He did say in a later post the cheque has been sent.


I don't need to defend myself on why I chose to do China instead of a UK event, however maybe in the future I will consider a UK event but certainly not because some negative person believes that it's more worthwhile that what I'm already doing.
I appreciate your opinions on this event are just that, your opinions. Thankfully they are not held by the majority of people or else these charities would be in dire straits by now.The first charity event on a bike and it has to be in China. You go where you want. But don't knock people, negative or otherwise, for critising your choice. You didn't have to start this thread to defend yourself, but you did put across the impression it's all slog, slog, slog and no respite.

[3of8]

Northerner, I saw that thread where you defended yourself so vigourously. And rightly so because after all it could have impacted on your business. However, PP has started the thread to clarify matters and stated she's not using the charity event as a jaunt or holiday and in my opinion this is plainly wrong. Something like that should be treated as a holiday. I and many others fully understand that one can travel the world and be educated about the whole of humanity instead of ones own little region, but what we don't need is the "woe is me" attitude that smacks faintly of hypocrisy. More hypocrisy I would say than the original jibes made by Anfield.

As for a LEJOG bike ride, I know what's involved, the level of fitness required and indeed the amount of time needed to complete it. I know it would be much tougher than China which is a doddle by comparison. Maybe I was being flippant about that. Maybe not.

A seasoned charity worker I'm not, but I am a seasoned charity contributor/donator. If I've anything spare then I'll give it. I was thinking of donating something to the China Cycle ride, I've seen the forms PP has left in a couple of places. But her indignant knocking of Anfield and her claim that she won't be having fun and it's all slog is laughable and may well have lost her valuable charity funds from several people, not just me. I'll carry on filling the boxes that are dotted around the county.

[John Little]

"So are you going to return John Little's cheque when you get it? He did say in a later post the cheque has been sent."

John Little is perfectly qualified to make his own decisions. He took a decision and sees no reason whatsoever to go back on it.

Thankyou for your concern; it is, however my own business.

[3of8]

"So are you going to return John Little's cheque when you get it? He did say in a later post the cheque has been sent."

John Little is perfectly qualified to make his own decisions. He took a decision and sees no reason whatsoever to go back on it.

Thankyou for your concern; it is, however my own business.
Well done you.

I was speaking to PP. But would you have contributed before seeing her thread?

[Boozeburglar]

How about some Women For Men around here????

[John Little]

I did consider it when her original post went out but did not do so because I do not like online payments very much. It then slipped my mind.

This thread reminded me of it, I read what was being said, and the information about the trip and decided that the proposed venture has merit so decided to put in my small moiety. If there had been a postal address originally then I should have done so then.

It should be fun - I hope it is. And it will do good.

Now I appear to be justifying my decision to you, though why I should do so eludes me.

End of.

[Moderator]

Following several complaints and a discussion between the Moderators, some posts have been removed from this thread and warnings issued.
This thread is now locked.